Friday, September 30, 2016

MANILA – Communist rebels stood firm on keeping the 4,000-strong New People’s Army even if they reach a peace agreement with the government, their chief negotiator said Thursday.The NPA could “cooperate” with the military “in the service of the Filipino people,” said Luis Jalandoni, who heads the rebels’ peace panel.

“We are firm on that. No disbandment, no disarmament because the NPA has been serving the people in so many ways,” he told a forum in Manila.

Jalandoni said negotiators could consider “different possibilities of integration” by NPA combatants into the military.

But he cited cases of “discrimination” against former Moro fighters absorbed by the military after the 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front.

“It is essential for us that the integrity and unity of the New People’s Army remain under the command of the Communist Party of the Philippines,” Jalandoni said.

Both sides hope to hammer out a deal within a year, ending decades of communist insurgency that has killed around 30,000 people.

But first they have to hurdle the most crucial phase of the negotiation, which seeks to address the root causes of the armed conflict.
\They will tackle socio-economic reforms such as free land distribution and the nationalization of 21 industries when talks resume in Oslo, Norway next week.

“We have high hopes but we know there’s a lot of work to be done,” Jalandoni said.

Maybe quantitatively it is small but qualitatively it is a brigade with great potential,resolve and tenacity.

They inspire the student community of India.

Privileged to be present in gathering and rally where I witnessed the great fighting spirit of comrades illuminating the flame of shaheed Bhagat Singh.

They are sowing the seeds for emerging red roses to bloom.

Comrades expresses the rage of a torrent interrupting at the end of the rally like a peaceful stream turning into a turbulent river, It was a real privilege to participate in this conference.

The theme of the sammelan was on students movements of today and how to combat the repression on them.

The author spent some time interviewing Ritesh Vidhyarti .The activists in their review made a self -critical assesment stating that they should work more to the day to day burning issues of the students rather than just working on political issues like that of Rohit Vemula or Kanhaiya Kumar.

They felt they had not sufficiently worked with the students on the grassroots level.

However they expressed confidence in confronting the Hindua fanatical fascist R.S.S. forces who in their opinion were morally paper tigers.

It felt that unnecessarily forces like A.I.S.F OR A.I.S.A. were intimidated psychological by the R.S.S .vociferously the BCM were critical of the revisionist student organizations who in their view never tapped the revolutionary potential of student community.\

BCM admitted that the subjective forces were very weak to launch a major movement but elaborated how much rage was felt within the student Community

In spite of hardly any organized leadership the Benares Hindu Unversity students launched a major struggle against fee-hike.

A struggle was also launched for a library that would operate day long.

They also stated that great discrimination was displayed towards women in the university with continuous cases of harassment.

Bhagat Singh Chatra Morcha earlier this year launched a 2 day seminar commemorating Lenin's work on Imperialism 100 years ago connecting it with the issue of Brahmanical fascism.

A strong rally of around 200 was led on that Occasion.

In June it launched a Go to Village campaign in the region of Chindoli covering villages for 15 days.

Here they propogated the politics of agrarian revolution particularly to the dalit community and performed cultural programmes.

The students identified with the life of the peasantry.BCM also joined hands with some peasant organizations identifying with the dalit class.

In February 2015 it launched a meeting with peasnt organizations condeming the imperialist policies of govt.Ritesh Vidhyarti felt that there was great potential as 40000 students of Benares university comprised the basic classes ,unlike Jawaharlal University in Delhi.

The BCM today is small and cannot independently organize a major struggle but has made considerable influence in joint fronts even with forces like N.S.U.I.

It is blatantly critical of all ruling class forces but has no objection in working with even rightist party student organization son issues.

The Bhagat Singh Chatra Morcha pledged to uphold the torch of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and uphold the Maoist led struggle in Dandkaranya.and the legacy of the Andhra Pradesh Radical Students Union.

It also felt that the question of caste had to be deeply studied and integrated with class struggle.It basically felt B.R.Ambedkar was morally a social revolutionary and had many positive points.

The closed session from 25-26th September was attended by delegates from democratic students Organization ,Punjab,Inquilabi Chatra Morcha,Allahabad Students for democratic Society,Punjab,Mazdur kisan ekta manch and jan mukti Parishad.

They all gave fraternal messages of solidarity in the open session.

During the open session the speakers related how Brahamanical fascism was spreading like wildfire in educational institutions and has to be combated at the very grassroots.The theme was based on students movements of today and how they should be built.They gave examples of the fascist Brahmanical forces were dominating the University campuses.

Particularly Professor Haragopal explained how castesim and Hindu communalism was so ingrained within the education system and how any democratic struggle for secularism and scientific method of education was obstructed by the ruling classes

She praised the unity of left forces during the Rohit Vemula agitation.Jennifer from T.I.S.S.,Mumbai spoke on the gender discrimination in relation to fascism.Professor Pramod Bhagde spoke on how Brahmanical fascism was a phenomenan different from general fascism and how it intervened in every rung and aspect of society.

President Anup concluded the meeting raising the slogan of 'Long live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism'.After the conference a rally was taken out to Lanka garte of B.H.U with activists vehemently shouting slogans against fascist opression of Hindu and Brahminic varieties as well as in support of movement in Dandkaranya.

Significant that the rally was blocked by the police from interspersing the gate of the campus of the benares Hindu University.At the gate the speakers openly condemned the policies of the ruling classes on the student community that diverted them from their burning issues and imposed casteist poison like the fangs of a snake.

It is a matter of debate whether my lack of belief in the existence of an Omnipresent, Omniscient God is due to my arrogant pride and vanity.

It never occurred to me that sometime in the future I would be involved in polemics of this kind.

As a result of some discussions with my friends, (if my claim to friendship is not uncalled for) I have realised that after having known me for a little time only, some of them have reached a kind of hasty conclusion about me that my atheism is my foolishness and that it is the outcome of my vanity.

Even then it is a serious problem. I do not boast of being above these human follies. I am, after all, a human being and nothing more.

And no one can claim to be more than that.

I have a weakness in my personality, for pride is one of the human traits that I do possess. I am known as a dictator among my friends.

Sometimes I am called a boaster. Some have always been complaining that I am bossy and I force others to accept my opinion. Yes, it is true to some extent. I do not deny this charge.

We can use the word ‘vainglory’ for it. As far as the contemptible, obsolete, rotten values of our society are concerned, I am an extreme sceptic.

But this question does not concern my person alone. It is being proud of my ideas, my thoughts. It cannot be called empty pride.

Pride, or you may use the word, vanity, both mean an exaggerated assessment of one’s personality. Is my atheism because of unnecessary pride, or have I ceased believing in God after thinking long and deep on the matter? I wish to put my ideas before you. First of all, let us differentiate between pride and vanity as these are two different things.

I have never been able to understand how unfounded, baseless pride or empty vanity can hinder a person from believing in God. I may refuse to acknowledge the greatness of a really great person only when I have got fame without doing any serious efforts or when I lack the superior mental powers necessary to become great. It is easy to understand but how is it possible that a believer can turn into a non-believer because of his vanity?

Only two things are possible: either a man deems himself to be in possession of Godly qualities, or he goes a step further and declares himself to be a god. In both these states of mind he cannot be an atheist in the true sense of the word. In the first case, it is not an outright rejection of God’s existence; in the other, he is affirming the existence of some kind of supernatural power responsible for the working of universe. It does not harm our argument whether he claims to be a god or considers God to be a reality in existence above his own being.

The real point, however, is that in both cases he is a theist, a believer. He is not an atheist. I want to bring home this point to you. I am not one of these two creeds. I totally reject the existence of an Omnipresent, all powerful, all knowing God. Why so? I will discuss it later in the essay.

Here I wish to emphasise that I am not an atheist for the reason that I am arrogant or proud or vain; nor am I a demi-god, nor a prophet; no, nor am I God myself. At least one thing is true that I have not evolved this thought because of vanity or pride. In order to answer this question I relate the truth.

My friends say that after Delhi bombing and Lahore Conspiracy Case, I rocketed to fame and that this fact has turned my head.

Let us discuss why this allegation is incorrect. I did not give up my belief in God after these incidents. I was an atheist even when I was an unknown figure. At least a college student cannot cherish any sort of exaggerated notion of himself that may lead him to atheism.

It is true that I was a favourite with some college teachers, but others did not like me. I was never a hardworking or studious boy. I never got an opportunity to be proud. I was very careful in my behaviour and somewhat pessimistic about my future career.

I was not completely atheistic in my beliefs. I was brought up under the care and protection of my father. He was a staunch Arya Samaji.

An Arya Samaji can be anything but never an atheist.

After my elementary education, I was sent to D. A. V College, Lahore.

I lived in the boarding house for one year. Besides prayers early in the morning and at dusk time, I sat for hours and chanted religious Mantras.

At that time, I was a staunch believer. Then I lived with my father. He was a tolerant man in his religious views.

It is due to his teachings that I devoted my life for the cause of liberating my country.

But he was not an atheist. His God was an all-pervading Entity.

He advised me to offer my prayers every day. In this way I was brought up. In the Non-cooperation days, I got admission to the National College.

During my stay in this college, I began thinking over all the religious polemics such that I grew sceptical about the existence of God.

In spite of this fact I can say that my belief in God was firm and strong. I grew a beard and ‘Kais’ (long head of hair as a Sikh religious custom). In spite of this I could not convince myself of the efficacy of Sikh religion or any religion at all, for that matter. But I had an unswerving, unwavering belief in God.

Then I joined the Revolutionary Party. The first leader I met had not the courage to openly declare himself an atheist.

He was unable to reach any conclusion on this point. Whenever I asked him about the existence of God, he gave me this reply: “You may believe in him when you feel like it.”

The second leader with whom I came in contact was a firm believer. I should mention his name. It was our respected Comrade Sachindara Nath Sanyal.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with Karachi conspiracy case. Right from the first page of his only book, ‘Bandi Jivan’ (Incarnated Life) he sings praises to the Glory of God. See the last page of the second part of this book and you find praises showered upon God in the way of a mystic. It is a clear reflection of his thoughts.

According to the prosecution, the ‘Revolutionary Leaflet’ which was distributed throughout India was the outcome of Sachindara Nath Sanyal’s intellectual labour. So often it happens that in revolutionary activities a leader expresses his own ideas which may be very dear to him, but in spite of having differences, the other workers have to acquiesce in them.

In that leaflet, one full paragraph was devoted to the praises of God and His doings which we, human beings, cannot understand. This is sheer mysticism. What I want to point out is that the idea of denying the existence of God did not even occur to the Revolutionary Party.

The famous Kakory martyrs, all four of them, passed their last day in prayers. Ram Parshad Bismal was a staunch Arya Samaji. In spite of his vast studies in Socialism and Communism, Rajan Lahiri could not suppress his desire to recite hymns from Upanishads and Gita.

There was but only one person among them who did not indulge in such activities. He used to say, “Religion is the outcome of human weakness or the limitation of human knowledge.” He is also in prison for life. But he also never dared to deny the existence of God.

Till that time I was only a romantic revolutionary, just a follower of our leaders. Then came the time to shoulder the whole responsibility. For some time, a strong opposition put the very existence of the party into danger. Many leaders as well as many enthusiastic comrades began to uphold the party to ridicule.

They jeered at us. I had an apprehension that some day I will also consider it a futile and hopeless task. It was a turning point in my revolutionary career. An incessant desire to study filled my heart. ‘Study more and more’, said I to myself so that I might be able to face the arguments of my opponents. ‘Study’ to support your point of view with convincing arguments. And I began to study in a serious manner.

My previous beliefs and convictions underwent a radical change. The romance of militancy dominated our predecessors; now serious ideas ousted this way of thinking. No more mysticism! No more blind faith! Now realism was our mode of thinking. At times of terrible necessity, we can resort to extreme methods, but violence produces opposite results in mass movements. I have talked much about our methods.

The most important thing was a clear conception of our ideology for which we were waging a long struggle. As there was no election activity going on, I got ample opportunity to study various ideas propounded by various writers. I studied Bakunin, the anarchist leader. I read a few books of Marx, the father of Communism.

I also read Lenin and Trotsky and many other writers who successfully carried out revolutions in their countries. All of them were atheists. The ideas contained in Bakunin’s ‘God and State’ seem inconclusive, but it is an interesting book.

After that I came across a book ‘Common Sense’ by Nirlamba Swami. His point of view was a sort of mystical atheism. I developed more interest in this subject.

By the end of 1926, I was convinced that the belief in an Almighty, Supreme Being who created, guided and controlled the universe had no sound foundations. I began discussions on this subject with my friends. I had openly declared myself an atheist. What it meant will be discussed in the following lines.

In May 1927, I was arrested in Lahore. This arrest came as a big surprise for me. I had not the least idea that I was wanted by the police. I was passing through a garden and all of a sudden the police surrounded me.

To my own surprise, I was very calm at that time. I was in full control of myself. I was taken into police custody.

The next day I was taken to the Railway Police lockup where I spent a whole month. After many days’ conversation with police personnel,

I guessed that they had some information about my connection with the Kakori Party. I felt they had some intelligence of my other activities in the revolutionary movement.

They told me that I was in Lucknow during the Kakori Party Trial so that I might devise a scheme to rescue the culprits.

They also said that after the plan had been approved, we procured some bombs and by way of test, one of those bombs was thrown into a crowd on the occasion of Dussehra in 1926.

They offered to release me on condition that I gave a statement on the activities of the Revolutionary Party. In this way I would be set free and even rewarded and I would not be produced as an approver in the court. I could not help laughing at their proposals.

It was all humbug. People who have ideas like ours do not throw bombs at their own innocent people.

One day, Mr. Newman, the then senior Superintendent of CID, came to me. After a long talk which was full of sympathetic words, he imparted to me what he considered to be sad news, that if I did not give any statement as demanded by them, they would be forced to send me up for trial for conspiracy to wage war in connection with Kakori Case and also for brutal killings in Dussehra gathering.

After that he said that he had sufficient evidence to get me convicted and hanged.

I was completely innocent, but I believed that the police had sufficient power to do it if they desired it to be so. The same day some police officers persuaded me to offer my prayers to God two times regularly.

I was an atheist. I thought that I would settle it to myself whether I could brag only in days of peace and happiness that I was an atheist, or in those hard times I could be steadfast in my convictions.

After a long debate with myself, I reached the conclusion that I could not even pretend to be a believer nor could I offer my prayers to God. No, I never did it. It was time of trial and I would come out of it successful. These were my thoughts. Never for a moment did I desire to save my life. So I was a true atheist then and I am an atheist now.

It was not an easy task to face that ordeal. Beliefs make it easier to go through hardships, even make them pleasant. Man can find a strong support in God and an encouraging consolation in His Name. If you have no belief in Him, then there is no alternative but to depend upon yourself. It is not child’s play to stand firm on your feet amid storms and strong winds.

In difficult times, vanity, if it remains, evaporates and man cannot find the courage to defy beliefs held in common esteem by the people.

If he really revolts against such beliefs, we must conclude that it is not sheer vanity; he has some kind of extraordinary strength. This is exactly the situation now. First of all we all know what the judgement will be. It is to be pronounced in a week or so.

I am going to sacrifice my life for a cause. What more consolation can there be!

A God-believing Hindu may expect to be reborn a king; a Muslim or a Christian might dream of the luxuries he hopes to enjoy in paradise as a reward for his sufferings and sacrifices.

What hope should I entertain? I know that will be the end when the rope is tightened round my neck and the rafters move from under my feet.

To use more precise religious terminology, that will be the moment of utter annihilation.

My soul will come to nothing. If I take the courage to take the matter in the light of ‘Reward’, I see that a short life of struggle with no such magnificent end shall itself be my ‘Reward.’ That is all.

Without any selfish motive of getting any reward here or in the hereafter, quite disinterestedly have I devoted my life to the cause of freedom. I could not act otherwise.

The day shall usher in a new era of liberty when a large number of men and women, taking courage from the idea of serving humanity and liberating them from sufferings and distress, decide that there is no alternative before them except devoting their lives for this cause.

They will wage a war against their oppressors, tyrants or exploiters, not to become kings, or to gain any reward here or in the next birth or after death in paradise; but to cast off the yoke of slavery, to establish liberty and peace they will tread this perilous, but glorious path.

Can the pride they take in their noble cause be called vanity? Who is there rash enough to call it so? To him I say either he is foolish or wicked. Leave such a fellow alone for he cannot realise the depth, the emotions, the sentiment and the noble feelings that surge in that heart. His heart is dead, a mere lump of flesh, devoid of feelings.

His convictions are infirm, his emotions feeble. His selfish interests have made him incapable of seeing the truth. The epithet ‘vanity’ is always hurled at the strength we get from our convictions.
You go against popular feelings; you criticise a hero, a great man who is generally believed to be above criticism. What happens?

No one will answer your arguments in a rational way; rather you will be considered vainglorious. Its reason is mental insipidity.

Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking.

As Mahatmaji is great, he is above criticism; as he has risen above, all that he says in the field of politics, religion, Ethics is right. You agree or not, it is binding upon you to take it as truth.

This is not constructive thinking. We do not take a leap forward; we go many steps back.

Our forefathers evolved faith in some kind of Supreme Being, therefore, one who ventures to challenge the validity of that faith or denies the existence of God, shall be called a Kafir (infidel), or a renegade.

Even if his arguments are so strong that it is impossible to refute them, if his spirit is so strong that he cannot be bowed down by the threats of misfortune that may befall him through the wrath of the Almighty, he shall be decried as vainglorious.

Then why should we waste our time in such discussions? This question has come before the people for the first time, hence the necessity and usefulness of such long discussions.

As far as the first question is concerned, I think I have made it clear that I did not turn atheist because of vanity. Only my readers, not I, can decide whether my arguments carry weight.

If I were a believer, I know in the present circumstances my life would have been easier; the burden lighter.

My disbelief in God has turned all the circumstances too harsh and this situation can deteriorate further. Being a little mystical can give the circumstances a poetic turn.

But I need no opiate to meet my end. I am a realistic man. I want to overpower this tendency in me with the help of Reason. I am not always successful in such attempts. But it is man’s duty to try and make efforts. Success depends on chance and circumstances.

Now we come to the second question: if it is not vanity, there ought to be some sound reason for rejection of age-old belief in God. Yes, I come to this question. I think that any man who has some reasoning power always tries to understand the life and people around him with the help of this faculty. Where concrete proofs are lacking, [mystical] philosophy creeps in.

As I have indicated, one of my revolutionary friends used to say that “philosophy is the outcome of human weakness.” Our ancestors had the leisure to solve the mysteries of the world, its past, its present and its future, its whys and its wherefores, but having been terribly short of direct proofs, every one of them tried to solve the problem in his own way. Hence we find wide differences in the fundamentals of various religious creeds. Sometimes they take very antagonistic and conflicting forms. We find differences in Oriental and Occidental philosophies.

There are differences even amongst various schools of thoughts in each hemisphere. In Asian religions, the Muslim religion is completely incompatible with the Hindu faith. In India itself, Buddhism and Jainism are sometimes quite separate from Brahmanism.

Then in Brahmanism itself, we find two conflicting sects: Aarya Samaj and Snatan Dheram. Charwak is yet another independent thinker of the past ages. He challenged the Authority of God. All these faiths differ on many fundamental questions, but each of them claims to be the only true religion. This is the root of the evil. Instead of developing the ideas and experiments of ancient thinkers, thus providing ourselves with the ideological weapon for the future struggle, – lethargic, idle, fanatical as we are – we cling to orthodox religion and in this way reduce human awakening to a stagnant pool.

It is necessary for every person who stands for progress to criticise every tenet of old beliefs. Item by item he has to challenge the efficacy of old faith. He has to analyse and understand all the details. If after rigorous reasoning, one is led to believe in any theory of philosophy, his faith is appreciated. His reasoning may be mistaken and even fallacious. But there is chance that he will be corrected because Reason is the guiding principle of his life. But belief, I should say blind belief is disastrous. It deprives a man of his understanding power and makes him reactionary.

Any person who claims to be a realist has to challenge the truth of old beliefs. If faith cannot withstand the onslaught of reason, it collapses. After that his task should be to do the groundwork for new philosophy. This is the negative side. After that comes in the positive work in which some material of the olden times can be used to construct the pillars of new philosophy.

As far as I am concerned, I admit that I lack sufficient study in this field. I had a great desire to study the Oriental Philosophy, but I could get ample opportunity or sufficient time to do so. But so far as I reject the old time beliefs, it is not a matter of countering belief with belief, rather I can challenge the efficacy of old beliefs with sound arguments. We believe in nature and that human progress depends on the domination of man over nature. There is no conscious power behind it. This is our philosophy.
Being atheist, I ask a few questions from theists:

1. If, as you believe there is an Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient God, who created the earth or universe, please let me know, first of all, as to why he created this world. This world which is full of woe and grief, and countless miseries, where not even one person lives in peace.

2. Pray, don’t say it is His law. If He is bound by any law, He is not Omnipotent. Don’t say it is His pleasure. Nero burnt one Rome. He killed a very limited number of people. He caused only a few tragedies, all for his morbid enjoyment. But what is his place in history? By what names do we remember him? All the disparaging epithets are hurled at him. Pages are blackened with invective diatribes condemning Nero: the tyrant, the heartless, the wicked.

One Genghis Khan killed a few thousand people to seek pleasure in it and we hate the very name. Now, how will you justify your all powerful, eternal Nero, who every day, every moment continues his pastime of killing people? How can you support his doings which surpass those of Genghis Khan in cruelty and in misery inflicted upon people? I ask why the Almighty created this world which is nothing but a living hell, a place of constant and bitter unrest.

Why did he create man when he had the power not to do so? Have you any answer to these questions? You will say that it is to reward the sufferer and punish the evildoer in the hereafter. Well, well, how far will you justify a man who first of all inflicts injuries on your body and then applies soft and soothing ointment on them? How far the supporters and organizers of Gladiator bouts were justified in throwing men before half starved lions, later to be cared for and looked after well if they escaped this horrible death. That is why I ask: Was the creation of man intended to derive this kind of pleasure?

Open your eyes and see millions of people dying of hunger in slums and huts dirtier than the grim dungeons of prisons; just see the labourers patiently or say apathetically while the rich vampires suck their blood; bring to mind the wastage of human energy that will make a man with a little common sense shiver in horror. Just observe rich nations throwing their surplus produce into the sea instead of distributing it among the needy and deprived. There are palaces of kings built upon the foundations laid with human bones. Let them see all this and say “All is well in God’s Kingdom.” Why so? This is my question. You are silent. All right. I proceed to my next point.

You, the Hindus, would say: Whosoever undergoes sufferings in this life, must have been a sinner in his previous birth. It is tantamount to saying that those who are oppressors now were Godly people then, in their previous births. For this reason alone they hold power in their hands. Let me say it plainly that your ancestors were shrewd people. They were always in search of petty hoaxes to play upon people and snatch from them the power of Reason. Let us analyse how much this argument carries weight!

Those who are well versed in the philosophy of Jurisprudence relate three of four justifications for the punishment that is to be inflicted upon a wrong-doer. These are: revenge, reform, and deterrence. The Retribution Theory is now condemned by all the thinkers. Deterrent theory is on the anvil for its flaws. Reformative theory is now widely accepted and considered to be necessary for human progress. It aims at reforming the culprit and converting him into a peace-loving citizen.

But what in essence is God’s Punishment even if it is inflicted on a person who has really done some harm? For the sake of argument we agree for a moment that a person committed some crime in his previous birth and God punished him by changing his shape into a cow, cat, tree, or any other animal. You may enumerate the number of these variations in Godly Punishment to be at least eighty-four lack. Tell me, has this tomfoolery, perpetrated in the name of punishment, any reformative effect on human man?

How many of them have you met who were donkeys in their previous births for having committed any sin? Absolutely no one of this sort! The so called theory of ‘Puranas’ (transmigration) is nothing but a fairy-tale.

I do not have any intention to bring this unutterable trash under discussion.

Do you really know the most cursed sin in this world is to be poor?

Yes, poverty is a sin; it is a punishment!

Cursed be the theoretician, jurist or legislator who proposes such measures as push man into the quagmire of more heinous sins. Did it not occur to your All Knowing God or he could learn the truth only after millions had undergone untold sufferings and hardships?

What, according to your theory, is the fate of a person who, by no sin of his own, has been born into a family of low caste people? He is poor so he cannot go to a school. It is his fate to be shunned and hated by those who are born into a high caste.

His ignorance, his poverty, and the contempt he receives from others will harden his heart towards society. Supposing that he commits a sin, who shall bear the consequences? God, or he, or the learned people of that society?

What is your view about those punishments inflicted on the people who were deliberately kept ignorant by selfish and proud Brahmans? If by chance these poor creatures heard a few words of your sacred books, Vedas, these Brahmans poured melted lead into their ears. If they committed any sin, who was to be held responsible? Who was to bear the brunt? My dear friends, these theories have been coined by the privileged classes.

They try to justify the power they have usurped and the riches they have robbed with the help of such theories. Perhaps it was the writer Upton Sinclair who wrote (Bhagat Singh is referring to Sinclair’s pamphlet ‘Profits of Religion’ – MIA transcriber) somewhere “only make a man firm believer in the immortality of soul, then rob him of all that he possesses.

He will willingly help you in the process.” The dirty alliance between religious preachers and possessors of power brought the boon of prisons, gallows, knouts and above all such theories for the mankind.

I ask why your Omnipotent God does not hold a man back when he is about to commit a sin or offence. It is child’s play for God. Why did He not kill war lords? Why did He not obliterate the fury of war from their minds? In this way He could have saved humanity of many a great calamity and horror. Why does He not infuse humanistic sentiments into the minds of the Britishers so that they may willingly leave India? I ask why He does not fill the hearts of all capitalist classes with altruistic humanism that prompts them to give up personal possession of the means of production and this will free the whole labouring humanity from the shackles of money.

You want to argue the practicability of Socialist theory, I leave it to your Almighty God to enforce it. Common people understand the merits of Socialist theory as far as general welfare is concerned but they oppose it under the pretext that it cannot be implemented. Let the Almighty step in and arrange things in a proper way.

No more logic chopping! I tell you that the British rule is not there because God willed it but for the reason that we lack the will and courage to oppose it.

Not that they are keeping us under subjugation with the consent of God, but it is with the force of guns and rifles, bombs and bullets, police and militia, and above all because of our apathy that they are successfully committing the most deplorable sin, that is, the exploitation of one nation by another. Where is God? What is He doing? Is He getting a diseased pleasure out of it? A Nero! A Genghis Khan! Down with Him!

Now another piece of manufactured logic! You ask me how I will explain the origin of this world and origin of man. Charles Darwin has tried to throw some light on this subject. Study his book. Also, have a look at Sohan Swami’s “Commonsense.” You will get a satisfactory answer. This topic is concerned with Biology and Natural History.

This is a phenomenon of nature. The accidental mixture of different substances in the form of Nebulae gave birth to this earth. When? Study history to know this. The same process caused the evolution of animals and in the long run that of man. Read Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species.’ All the later progress is due to man’s constant conflict with nature and his efforts to utilise nature for his own benefit. This is the briefest sketch of this phenomenon.

Your next question will be why a child is born blind or lame even if he was not a sinner in his previous birth. This problem has been explained in a satisfactory manner by biologists as a mere biological phenomenon. According to them the whole burden rests upon the shoulders of parents whose conscious or unconscious deeds caused mutilation of the child prior to his birth.
You may thrust yet another question at me, though it is merely childish. The question is: If God does not really exist, why do people come to believe in Him?

Brief and concise my answer will be. As they come to believe in ghosts, and evil spirits, so they also evolve a kind of belief in God: the only difference being that God is almost a universal phenomenon and well developed theological philosophy.

However, I do disagree with radical philosophy. It attributes His origin to the ingenuity of exploiters who wanted to keep the people under their subjugation by preaching the existence of a Supreme Being; thus claimed an authority and sanction from Him for their privileged position. I do not differ on the essential point that all religions, faiths, theological philosophies, and religious creeds and all other such institutions in the long run become supporters of the tyrannical and exploiting institutions, men and classes.

Rebellion against any king has always been a sin in every religion.

As regard the origin of God, my thought is that man created God in his imagination when he realized his weaknesses, limitations and shortcomings. In this way he got the courage to face all the trying circumstances and to meet all dangers that might occur in his life and also to restrain his outbursts in prosperity and affluence.

God, with his whimsical laws and parental generosity was painted with variegated colours of imagination. He was used as a deterrent factor when his fury and his laws were repeatedly propagated so that man might not become a danger to society. He was the cry of the distressed soul for he was believed to stand as father and mother, sister and brother, brother and friend when in time of distress a man was left alone and helpless. He was Almighty and could do anything. The idea of God is helpful to a man in distress.

Society must fight against this belief in God as it fought against idol worship and other narrow conceptions of religion. In this way man will try to stand on his feet. Being realistic, he will have to throw his faith aside and face all adversaries with courage and valour. That is exactly my state of mind.

My friends, it is not my vanity; it is my mode of thinking that has made me an atheist. I don’t think that by strengthening my belief in God and by offering prayers to Him every day, (this I consider to be the most degraded act on the part of man) I can bring improvement in my situation, nor can I further deteriorate it. I have read of many atheists facing all troubles boldly, so I am trying to stand like a man with the head high and erect to the last; even on the gallows.

Let us see how steadfast I am. One of my friends asked me to pray. When informed of my atheism, he said, “When your last days come, you will begin to believe.” I said, “No, dear sir, Never shall it happen. I consider it to be an act of degradation and demoralisation. For such petty selfish motives, I shall never pray.” Reader and friends, is it vanity? If it is, I stand for it.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

THE IDEAS OF CHAIRMAN GONZALO CAN NEVER BE IMPRISONED THEY ARE PART OF THE TREASURY OF MARXISM LENINISM MAOISM - RED SALUTE TO NEW EDITION OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF PERU COLLECTED WORKS BY COMRADES IN THE NETHERLANDS

PCmI : We remember 24th Anniversary of the detention and historical speech of chairman Gonzalo from the cage

We celebrate the 24th anniversary of the historical Speech from the cage by Chairman Gonzalo, held in isolation in the prisons of the Peruvian regime and imperialism.

The 25th of September 1992, from the obscene cage in which the corrupt genocidal and anti-people Fujimori’s regime, supported by imperialism and CIA, had locked him, chairman Gonzalo, leader of the Peruvian revolution, had his historical speech, with which, among other, made strongly clear:

“We are here as children of the people and we are fighting in these trenches, they are also trenches of combat, and we do it because we are Communists! Because here we are defending the interests of the people, the principles of the Party, and the People’s War. That is what we do, we are doing it and will continue to do so! …'The road is long and we shall arrive. We shall triumph! …What do we need? We need Maoism to be incarnated, and it is being incarnated, and by generating Communist Parties to drive and lead this new great wave of the world proletarian revolution that is coming. … ”

24 years later, the People’s war in Peru still suffers a crisis but the words of chairman Gonzalo stand as a reference point of how to advance in Peru and of great importance in the world.

Our Party never gave up the defence of this Speech and chairman Gonzalo, the support of the continuation of People’s War in Peru and the reorganisation of PCP

We still support the comrades who in Peru and abroad carry forward the ideology, the line and the practice of the People’s War pointed out by chairman Gonzalo.

Today, in Peru, the main enemy, is the right opportunism line (LOD)… the right opportunism that takes different looks in Peru and abroad and sows confusion and division. But we struggle agaisnt all tendencies that raise the red flag of PCP, People’s War and Chairman Gonzalo as a dogmatic icon.

The application of Maoism cannot develop in a dogmatic and stereotyped form, it needs to apply the MLM to the concrete reality with the necessary innovations required by the changes of imperialism and the differences in the single countries. This line has already failed in our Movement and brought about damages and deviations, it creates fiefs, not Parties.

At the same time, it needs absolutely a balance of PW in Peru for a strategic new advancement
Nobody should charge chairman Gonzalo with the simplifications of many of his supporters in Peru and abroad.

Our Party has included in its founding theses those that should be considered as the contributions of Chairman Gonzalo to the revolutionary Marxist-Leninist-Maoist theory, in its development in the current historical stage.

“The Gonzalo thought

In the application of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism, to the reality on a world scale and within each country, it is necessary to refer to what is now the spearhead of the international communist movement: the Communist Party of Peru and the Gonzalo Thought. The elements of the Gonzalo thought are finding verification in the theoretical and practical advances of Maoist parties and organizations. The “critical assimilation” of them is a necessary condition for the application of Maoism to today’s reality.

What are the contributions of Chairman Gonzalo:To have affirmed, amidst the fire of the people’s war, Maoism as the third and higher stage of Marxism-Leninism; To have affirmed, in theory and practice, the maoist universality of people’s war as the winning strategy of the proletariat and, within it, the concept of the militarized communist parties, built in order to prepare, begin and develop the people’s war To have affirmed the need to work out a “specific thought”, fruit of the creative application of MLM to the reality of each country, as a weapon to define and establish the program, the strategy and tactics of the revolution in each country To have affirmed the scientific concept of the Leadership, based on the development of the “specific thought” in the ideological and strategic spheres, fruit of the experience of the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat, that forges its leaders, which represent the incarnation and advanced synthesis, able to lead the revolution to the victory”

Partito Comunista maoista – Italy

24th September 2016

LONG LIVE CHAIRMAN GONZALO AND HIS IDEAS AND HIS IMMORTAL CONTRIBUTION TO MARXISM LENINISM MAOISM - YOU CAN NOT IMPRISON IDEAS - FREEDOM FOR CHAIRMAN GONZALO

Glen Ford and Jeff Cohen agree that excluding third parties left the "non-partisan" debate with candidates with "very little light between them", but disagree about strategic voting and the danger of Trump's neo-fascismClearly Glenn Ford has got it right Hillary Clinton is not the lesser evil - she is in many ways the most effective evil for the US imperialist system.

Monday, September 26, 2016

MAY IT SOW THE SEEDS FOR MANY A FLOWER TO BLOOM IN THE STUDENT MOVEMENT TO ILLUMINATE FLAME OF SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH AND THE POLITICS OF NAXALBARI AND MAO THOUGHT..

ALTHOUGH QUANTITATIVELY SMALL THEY ARE QUALITATIVELY A THORN IN THE FLESH FOR THE RULING CLASSES WAGING BATTLES AGAINST HINDU COMMUNAL R.S.S.FASCISM AND BRAHMANICAL TYRANNY OVER DALITS.

IT HAS WAGED GO TO VILLAGE CAMPAIGNS TO PROPAGATE MESSAGE OF AGRARIAN REVOLUTION ENDORSING COMRADE MAO'S CALL OF INTEGRATING STUDENTS WITH THE PEASANTRY.

This organization is small but has wahed many a battle for student struggles as well as launched a crusade against the tyrannical forces of Brahmanism and Hindu fascism.

This group is traget by forces like R.S.S. which often threaten it's cadre.

Morally it is very sympathetic to the work of the C.P.I.(Maoist) feeling they are the most correct revolutionary stream.

It has also coducted the 'Go to village' campaigns in areas of Utar Pradesh like Andhra Pradesh Radical Student Union earlier did.Earlier in June it made a miticuluos study of the semi-feudal condition s prevalent in villages around benares like Chenderi.

All democrats must give strong support to their objectives and work. Launching a struggle for a library .Professor Sandeep Pandey was removed from his post for supporting the struggle.

The theme of conference is on the struggle and path of students today for emancipation

Saturday, September 24, 2016

ALEPPO – Syrian Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) accused Turkey-backed rebels of targeting their positions. The attack reportedly took place on Friday in the village of Merenaz in Afrin District, northwest of Aleppo.

“Supported by Turkey, Syrian opposition factions launched an offensive on our units in the village of Merenaz, in Afrin,” the YPG General Command said.

The YPG said that they were attacked with light and heavy weapons and that they returned fire.

“On Friday morning, the armed opposition factions in Azaz resumed their hostile attacks on our forces stationed in the village of Merenaz, although we are in a position of defence,” the Kurdish leadership said in a statement.

The Turkish Army backed Islamist rebel groups in their push to take the city of Jarablus. The city fell on August 24th. Turkey now intends to stop the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from connecting the cantons of Afrin and Kobane through al-Bab City in northern Syria.

Tensions have recently increased between Turkey-backed rebels and the SDF soldiers in the region.Turkish Army Hit Kurdish Positions in Syria

The Turkish Army targeted the YPG’s headquarters near the Syrian border city of Tel Abyad on Thursday.

The YPG’s security headquarters were bombarded by the Turkish artillery near Tel Abyad in the northern countryside of Raqqa Governorate.

Another attack by Turkey’s military targeted a YPG security checkpoint in the town of Munbateh, a Tel Abyad suburb.

At least four Kurdish fighters were wounded.

“If the international coalition won’t take any action to stop Turkey’s violations on the border, we will respond by force,” the Kurdish officer said.

The YPG and their allies in the SDF, backed by the US-led coalition, expelled the Islamic State militants from Tel Abyad in June 2015.

This is not the first time Turkey has targeted Syrian Kurds. According to military sources, the Turkish Army has earlier launched more than 20 attacks on Kurdish positions in northern Syria. Most of these attacks targeted YPG-held areas in Aleppo, Kobane, and northern Raqqa.

The Turkish army on Thursday targeted headquarters of the Kurdish YPG forces near the Syrian border city of Tel Abyad.

Security headquarters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) were exposed to artillery bombardment by the Turkish military forces in the vicinity of Tel Abyad in the northern countryside of Raqqa Governorate.

Democracy and Class Struggle says it is time to go beyond the liberal demand that Black Lives Matter which is totally ignored - to the demand Black Liberation and active self defense.Support Economic Boycott of Charlotte - No Justice No Peace !

THANKS TO OUR BROTHER RASHID FOR PICTUREIF YOU WANT TO STUDY MARXISM LENINISM MAOISM AND BLACK LIBERATION IN 21st CENTURY READ THE WORKS OF KEVIN "RASHID" JOHNSON

SUPPORT THE CONVENTION OF 'STOP WAR ON PEOPLE' IN DELHI ON 26TH SEPTEMBER AND SPREAD THE MESSAGE IN EVERY NOOK AND CORNER.

WE NEED TO BUILD AN ORGANIZED MOVEMENT TO COMBAT OPERATION GREENHUNT AND ALL THE FASCIST REPRESSION OF STATE ON WORKERS ,PEASANTS AND STUDENT MOVEMENTS,MUSLIM MINORITIES AND DALITS.

SUCH EVENTS ARE A STEPPING STONE OR THE SEEDS FOR BUILDING DEMOCRATIC RESISTANCE.IN THE NAME OF CURBING 'MAOISM' THE RULING CLASSES HAVE BRUTALLY LAUNCHED AN ASSAULT ON THE TRIBALS IN CHATTISAGRH AND TRAMPLED UPON DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES MOVEMENTS ALL OVER.

THIS YEAR IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR SINCE THE REPRESSIVE LIBERALIZATION AND GLOBALIZATION POLICIES WERE INTRODUCED.

BANNING THE C.P.I.(MAOIST) AND ASSASINATING THEIR LEADERS IS MORALLY AN ATTACK ON PEOPLE'S DEMOCRACY EVEN IF ONE DISAGREES WITH THEIR POLITICS AND POLICIES.

WE ALSO NEED TO FIGHT THE COMMUNAL FASCIST FORCES OF R.S.S REPRESENTING HINDUTVA WITH ALL OUR MIGHT .REVOLUTIONARY SECULARFRONTS HAVE TO BE FORMED TO RESIST THE HINDU FASCIST R.S.S BRIGADES WHICH ARE THE EQUIVALENT OF THE NAZIS

Democrats worldwide should support this important event by 'Matidari' forum focusing on the barbaric Operation Green hunt,fascist repression on people of Kashmir and all-out assault on democratic movements.

The present rulers are deploying the same rule and divide policies of the British colonialists.Strong urban and workers movemenst ahve to developed suporting and linking with the struggles of tribals and peasantry.

The state is now projecting Hindutva politics in a very subtle and disguised manner.There Is no justification for unofficially banning forces like Revolutionary democratic Front. and a form of fascism charasteric to 3rd world countries which comrade Zhou En Lai spoke about is developing

A special caste-class analysis has to be made and the victimiztion of the Muslim minority has to be fought tooth and nail.

Still we have examples of encouraging resistance like those of the landed and landless peasantry in Punjab and of dalit students in Hyderabad

Harsh Thakor

STOP WAR ON PEOPLE

Invitation to join a public seminar on the 26th of September at 2 pm at the Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, near Central Secretariat Metro Station, New Delhi.

At a time when socially engineered public opinion – howsoever cut off from ground reality – is used to construct state policies in the interests of the ruling elite, the task of contesting these manufactured views becomes necessary to uphold the principles of democracy.

In present-day India, under the Modi-led NDA government, this process of social engineering dictated by the interests of corporations has become synonymous with “development.” In this situation, the lives and the basic dignity of millions of people is put in peril to merely feed the corporate market.

The Indian subcontinent, while has historically witnessed such dehumanization of a vast number of its citizens in the past, has perhaps never seen a systemic violation of human rights at the scale we see today. What is even more troubling is the complete normalization of this violation of human dignity.
Today, as India continues to project its image in pompous terms to the rest of the world, the relentless and savage wars that it wages on its own people has reached frightening new proportions.

The most oppressed sections of the Indian populace -- including adivasis, Dalits, religious minorities, workers and women -- are continually being held hostage by self-proclaimed vigilante groups to prove their Indianness. The recent spate of attacks on members of these communities, and the subsequent impunity afforded to the perpetrators, is testimony to this newfound zeal of the ruling government to systemically challenge, and crush, the diverse social fabric of the Indian subcontinent in an effort to render it saffron.

This brutish stance of the present government is particularly visible in its treatment of minority communities, the unorganized Indian workforce, the adivasis and the Dalits. Instead of addressing the concerns of these communities, the present government has compounded problems by attacking them relentlessly for registering their protests, or worse, is defending its actions in the name of safeguarding national interest.

In central India this war is being waged in the mineral rich districts of southern Chhattisgarh. The inhabitants of these lands and forests, the adivasis, have fought tooth and nail to establish their rightful ownership over the land and its resources. But for those at the helm of power, commercial interest finds precedence over the land, life and dignity of the people of this country. Utilizing every means of terrorizing the people into submission, the state, under the directorship of corporations, has brutally displaced thousands of people, destroyed vast tracts of forestland, devastated the livelihood of adivasis dependent on the forests and defended its right to pillage in the name of ‘vikas’ or ‘progress’. This has, in turn, led to an unprecedented loot, plundering and bloodbath, earning the

Indian state the infamous moniker of perpetuating the “biggest grab of tribal lands since Columbus.”
This farcical model of “development” has been the mainstay of this state’s so-called economic policy towards the region, even as its residents remain some of the poorest people in the world. Instead of catering to the needs and demands of the villagers, whose rights over their forests and lands is protected constitutionally under the Fifth Schedule, the current Central and State government has continually waged a war against its own people. It has preferred to outspend millions on the militarization of the area and forceful acquisition of natural resources aided by diluting the Forest Rights Act rather than addressing the needs of the people.

In this war, the Indian government has unabashedly exploited women in the worst ways imaginable. There are several documented cases of security forces sexually assaulting, raping and then killing women in attempts to intimidate communities into fearful submission. The recent brutal killing of an adivasi woman, Madkam Hidme, by the security forces in the name of fighting ‘Naxals’ is only one such instance.

While a section of the Indian media has failed to produce bipartisan reports on the state of affairs in the region, journalists who have staked their lives to present unbiased reports on this state of war are immediately declared anti-national and insurrectionary. Those who dare to report despite this threat are simply incarcerated or hounded out of the state by vigilante groups like Samajik Ekta Manch and the police. Journalists like Malini Subramaniam and Alok Putul are either openly threatened or simply jailed on various pretexts, as has been the case with a dozen reporters from various media houses. Today, Prabhat Singh is once again facing jail for reporting on Chhattisgarh.

Moreover, the cultural and ecological devastation that this state-sponsored war has unleashed on the people is simply too great to ignore. The nature of this continuing stream of assaults on the adivasi way of life, their forests, and their dignity is such that a near-obliteration is at stake. Adivasis are compelled to express their dissent through the cultural tools available to them. They have attempted to document the consequences of this war through paintings and songs. And yet, their endeavours have largely gone unnoticed.

To put it simply, the monstrosity that is being unleashed on the adivasis, the Dalits, workers, women and religious minorities is unparalleled in the modern history of the country. The Indian government, in the name of countering insurgency and the so-called anti-national elements, appears hell-bent on crushing resistance movements by adopting methods that would, under international law, be considered “war crimes.”

Within this context, the role of this initiative, Matidari: Forum for People’s Right to Land, Life and Dignity, is to bring together democratic and revolutionary forces and individuals to create a common platform for those who share these concerns. Irrespective of our political and individual affiliations, the need of the hour is to come together to acknowledge that a state of war continues in India’s heartlands, as well as other places where people stand in direct confrontation against the corporate interests of the ruling elite.

We appeal to all individuals and collective forces that wish to unite and fight this war on people. To this end, we invite you to join us for a public seminar “Stop War on People” on September 26, 2016 (Monday) at 2 pm at the Constitution Club of India, Rafi Marg, near Central Secretariat Metro Station, New Delhi. Email ID: matidari.2016@gmail.com.

The Letter to the Organizers of Jalandhar Convention
A Message to the Organizers of the Convention

Comrades,

The convention called by you to support the people of Kashmir and to oppose the bloody military offensive by the Indian rulers against the people of Kashmir is an appreciable step.

It is rather more commendable that the step is taken jointly by the three revolutionary organizations active in Punjab.

Our organization CPRCI (ML) firmly stands for the cause of this convention.

We express our solidarity with the people of Kashmir, waging courageous and perilous struggle for their rights and justice against the military oppression by the Indian ruling classes.

We send them revolutionary salute. As we share our concerns, through you, with the comrades / friends attending the convention, we want to repeat our firm belief that a possibility of wider response to show solidarity with people the of Kashmir is still present.

(Not on the issue of supporting the people of Kashmir alone, but on many other issues pertaining to the revolutionary / pro-people cause).

We hope that adopting a principled yet flexible approach, all of us advance further on the path of coordinated / joint endeavors.

The issue of freedom of Kashmir is present since the division of India in 1947. Using the military might, Kashmir was divided and occupied, on the one side by the Indian rulers and on the other side by the Pakistani rulers.

The situation has been explosive for about two and half decades. About one hundred thousand people have been killed. The number of those injured, missing and tortured in the police and military camps is far bigger. About seven hundred thousand army personnel are stationed in Indian occupied Kashmir; it's a war like situation there.

The rulers strive to suppress people's fury with force of the gun, but it erupts in flames time and again. For around three weeks, the situation is out of control of the army of the Indian rulers.

Despite the curfews, the firings and the ban on internet and newspapers, people come out on the streets in thousands and clash with the army.

The widespread participation of people in these protests and clashes is exemplary. Around 50 people have been killed and hundreds are injured, but nothing can stop the rage of people the.

In Punjab as well as in the country and abroad, voice is being raised in support of the people of Kashmir.

To encourage this positive response and to lend a hand to the joint endeavor, our Party is at the ready.

We stand by the people the of side of Kashmir in their struggle for freedom and democracy; in their struggle for the right to self-determination of Kashmiri nationality, including the right to secede; in their struggle against the regime of military atrocities by the Indian rulers; in their struggle against the Indian rulers who are maintaining their occupation of Kashmir with the aid of black laws such as AFSPA and others; and we stand against the feudal, comprador Indian rulers.

We stand for the joint endeavor by all the communist revolutionary and revolutionary democratic forces - the endeavor to arouse the people of entire India in support of the struggling people of Kashmir; the endeavor through which we can move forward on the path of establishing the unity of people the of entire India, so as to defeat the exploiting, oppressing and imperialist-lackey Indian rulers and abolish this anti-people state.
-

Down with the blatant national chauvinism and expansionism of the entire ruling classes and their parties.
-

Down with the Indian rulers who are trampling down various nationalities under the name of integrity of India.
-

Down with the Indian rulers who are feverishly plundering and oppressing the entire working people all over India.
-

Down with the Hindu communal fascist trend of RSS-BJP.
- Long live the democratic unity of all the people against the feudal and comprador-capitalist Indian rulers.

With revolutionary greetings
PSLC, CPRCI (ML)

03.08.2016
(An extended english version of the report
published in Surk Leeh, Sep. Oct. 2016 Issue)

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Prachanda the renegade Maoist and Modi the Hindu Fundamentalist "we have chemistry"

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has accused Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of shaming the country by signing a 25-point joint communiqué during his state visit to India. He claimed the agreements were against the national interest.

Inaugurating the party programme in Pokhara on Sunday, the UML chairman said, “The deal has harmed the dignity of Nepali people. He [Dahal] did not come out with a single good work. Whatever he did were against national interest.”

Last year, India regarded the constitution as a big achievement, Oli said, but now its suggestions—to amend the constitution—has aroused suspicion.

Asserting that India speaking about amending Nepal’s constitution was not a right thing to do, Oli added, “My government was toppled when I denied playing to the tunes of ‘others’”. He also claimed that conspiracy was hatched to obstruct promulgation of the constitution.

“Again big plans are underway to prevent the implementation of the constitution and bring stability in the country. The rhetoric of amending the constitution is mere a tool for that purpose,” Oli said. He stressed that holding three levels of elections is the need of the hour and more important than amending the constitution.

Speaking at the programme, UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel said the government was plotting to ditch the constitution by not holding elections. “Constitution will not be amended under any circumstances,” he said.

Baidya, Chand criticise Dahal’s agreements with India

CPN (Revolutionary Maoist) Chairman Mohan Baidya has claimed that the joint statement signed by the prime ministers of Nepal and India is against Nepal and the Nepali people.

In a statement, Baidya, a former deputy of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, criticised the PM for reviving the Pancheshwar Hydropower Project, supporting BIPPA (Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement) with India and giving continuation to unequal pacts including the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950.

Baidya also expressed serious concerns over Nepal’s promise to support India at the UN Security Council, claiming that the move sails against Nepal’s foreign policy of non-alignment.

“The joint statement also clarifies that the prime minister had gone to seek India’s support for different issues including constitution amendment but had failed,” Baidya charged.

In a similar tone, CPN Maoist chief Netra Bikram Chand slammed Dahal’s agreement with India, warning of protests against it. He commented that PM Dahal had surrendered to India.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS 185/3, FOURTH FLOOR, ZAKIR NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110025

DATE: 19 September 2016RELEASE KHURRAM PARVEZ IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY!RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLE OF JAMMU & KASHMIR!WITHDRAW THE ARMY AND PARAMILITARY FROM THE REGION OF JAMMU & KASHMIR!

The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners condemns the illegal arrest/detention of Kashmiri civil rights activist, Khurram Parvez, who is the chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and Coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS). Mr. Parvez, who was earlier prevented from boarding a flight to Geneva where he was going to attend the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Commission, was picked up from his residence in Srinagar on Thursday and since then has been transferred to a jail in Kupwara.

Mr. Parvez has been slapped the arrest order under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC which pertains to breach of peace and motive to commit a cognizable offence.

The arrest of Khurram Parvez comes in the wake of the killing spree that the Government of India has unleashed in the Kashmir valley since July 2016 following the strongest civil uprising in the valley.

The statement issued by writers, lawyers and intellectuals worldwide demanding the release of Khurram Parvez sums up succinctly the situation in Jammu & Kashmir as it states:“We note with horror that since July 2016 80 persons have been killed, over 11000 persons have been injured, over 1000 persons have been arrested and over 100 ambulances have been attacked.”

The total disregard for anything pertaining to international law as well as the zero political will to look into the continuing protests of the people demanding their right to self-determination as something to be addressed politically—with due regards to the fundamental rights of the people—have resulted in an ostrich like attitude of Delhi.

This act of self-denial of the Indian State with Narendra Modi government in Delhi have forced it more and more closer to US imperialism which is further escalating the precarious situation in the region.

Possibly it is this fatal attraction to the US that has made the points man of the RSS-BJP for J&K, Ram Madhav to go over the top to demand a complete jaw for a tooth policy to rake up the smokescreen of extraneous forces (read Pakistan) having a hand in the continuing uprising of the people in J&K.

Every now and then the home minister, defence minister and the prime minister maintain that the situation in J&K have come back to ‘normal’. If so then one fails to understand why the need to hand over the entire South Kashmir to the army with sweeping powers!

Thus 70 days have gone since July 2016 with every inch of the region of J&K under curfew. Even on the day of Eid many of the important mosques in the region were not allowed to hold prayers.

Restoring normalcy for the world's largest democracy is to ruthlessly crush the legitimate aspirations of the peoples of Kashmir who are trying to give realization to their inalienable right of self determination while continuously deny them their fundamental rights.

Needless to say that the manner in which the Kashmir issue has been dealt with so far exposes the duplicity of the Indian state, which recognizes self determination only in so far as it applies to peoples under domination in foreign territory, but not to a section of the people demanding the same within the territory of India.

The CRPP demands the unconditional release of Khurram Parvez and calls upon the Government of India to resolve the current crisis in Kashmir politically by recognizing the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Democracy and Class Struggle note the end of the ceasefire in Syria with the Western Media spinning the lie it was Syria's fault Statement on the US Air-Strikes in Deir Ezzor, September 19, 2016 from ILPS

The killing of 62 soldier...s of the Syrian Arab Army and the wounding of 100 others from four air strikes carried out by two US F-16 fighter jets and two A-10 support aircraft is a blatant act of aggression and deserves the condemnation of all peace-loving peoples of the world.

It cannot be explained away as an "accident" by the US. This imperialist power boasts of possessing smart bombs that can hit targets with the highest degree of precision. It has refused to coordinate its operations with Russia.

It pursues the neoconservative policy in Washington to destroy any country that refuses to submit to the dictates of US imperialism and assert national sovereignty. It has consistently sought to destroy countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran for opposing Zionist Israel and the US-Israel combine.

The attack on the Syrian Arab Army positions around Deir Ezzor paved the way for an offensive by Islamic State or Daesh terrorists. These have long been trained, funded and armed by intelligence agencies of the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The offensive of the US against the Syrian Arab Army was stopped only when Russian fighter jets carried out air strikes against the Daesh terrorists. Since then, Russia has exposed the treacherous act of the US.

The Syrian government called the US air strikes "serious and blatant aggression" and a "conclusive evidence" that the US and its allies are in league with Daesh in a war to overthrow Assad.

Russia has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to demand from the US a detailed explanation for the attacks. Given the sordid record of this UN body, there is nothing much that can be expected in terms of concrete action being taken against the US for its roque behavior.

The attack on Syrian Arab Army forces comes at a time when US plans in Syria appears to be unraveling. A few days ago, US soldiers were driven away from Northern Aleppo by so-called moderate rebels belonging to the Free Syrian Army.

The Free Syrian Army units involved called thw US troops "infidels and crusaders" out to invade Syria. One analyst has wondered whether the attack against the Syrian Arab Army was meant to assure the "moderate rebels" that the US was really their ally against Assad.

Recently, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice was quoted as saying that Syrian rebels might never be strong enough to topple Assad. Does this mean that the US is now ready to wage an overt war against Assad? Is the incident in Deir Ezzor testing the waters?

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle and all peace-loving peoples of the world must condemn the long running US imperialist aggression against Syria and the Syrian people.

The aggressive war instigated by the US has already resulted in hundreds of thousands killed, cities destroyed and millions of refugees displaced and driven out of their country

It is sad to note Bojja Tarakam, an advocate by profession and poet, novelist, writer, public speaker, civil libertarian, activist in both revolutionary and Dalit movements and most of all a humane person by choice, breathed his last a few hours ago.

It is a great loss to Telugu society in general and people’s movements in particular. He was born on June 27, 1939 in Kandikuppa village near Amalapuram, East Godavari district.

His father Bojja Appala Swami was a Brahmo Samajist, friend of Babasaheb B R Ambedkar and legislator in Madras and Andhra Pradesh Assemblies (1952-62) and thus Tarakam imbibed the ideas of social reform and social concerns from childhood.

He had his graduation in Kakinada and LLB from Osmania University. For a short while he practiced as a lawyer in Kakinada, but his marriage to Vijaya Bharati, daughter of great Dalit poet Boyi Bheemanna in 1968 brought him to Telangana.

As Vijaya Bharathi garu got a job as a Telugu lecturer in Nizamabad, Tarakam began law practice there and became a part of revolutionary and Dalit movements in the district as well as state. He was founder member of Revolutionary Writers Association (Viplava Rachayitala Sangham – Virasam) and was on its executive committee for many years.

He was arrested in Emergency and spent more than a year in jail. Post-Emergency, Vijaya Bharati joined Telugu Academy in Hyderabad and Tarakam also moved to High Court. During this time his activity was more in civil liberties and Dalit movements.

He fought almost all the cases of Dalit atrocities, like Padirikuppam, Karamchedu, Neerukonda, Chundur, Vempenta, Lakshmipet both in and outside courts. He was instrumental in establishing Andhra Pradesh Dalit Mahasabha after Karamchedu massacre and later became the state president of Republican Party of India.

He was also a fine poet with two collections of poems – Nadi Putting Gontuka (1983) and Naalaage Godavari (2000), a novel Panchatantram (2012), a novella Nela Nagali Moodeddulu (2008) as well as theoretical works like Kulam – Vargam (1996) and Dalitulu – Rajyam (2008).

His most popular primer on the rights of a detained person Poleesulu Arrest Cheste (1981) has seen more than twenty reprints in the last 35 years. He also exposed the atrocities on the SCs and STs as well as the diversion of funds earmarked for the SCs and STs in two popular books in 2012.He continues to live in his relentless spirit, reverberation of his mesmerizing speeches and insightful books.

Newt Knight - he lived for others - the story of the Free State of Jones now made into a Film about to come to Cinema near you

Democracy and Class Struggle says Newt Knight after being reviled as a traitorous criminal bandit by the Confederacy and its racist hangers on - is now being having his truth revealed - he was man who lived for others. "Poor Men Fight Rich Man's War"

LONG LIVE THE STRUGGLE OF AGRICULTURAL DALIT LABOURERS FROM THE CLUTCHES OF TYRANNY.

SALUTE THE RESILIENCE OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS LED BY PUNJAB KHET MAZDOOR UNION IN LAMBI IN CHIEF MINISTER BADAL'S CONSTITUENCY IN 3 DAY PROTEST .

MAY THE AGITATION SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE.GREAT TO ALSO SEE SUCH PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN BURNING EFFIGY OF CHIEF MINISTER ..

SUCH EVENTS ARE A STEPPING STONE FOR A MASSIVE UPSURGE.LIKE A CANDLE LIGHT TURNING INTO A BONFIRE..

TRIBUTE TO METICULOUS GROUNDWORK OF .P.M.K.U. WHO ARE SOWING THE SEEDS FOR MANY A LOTUS TO BLOOM.

Over a thousand agricultural labourers thronged around Chief minister Prakash Singh Badal's constituency in a protest for demands from 15-17th September..

The main demands was for 5 marlas of land.

The women comrades stole the show burning the effigy of the chief minister.

On the 2nd and 3rd days a heroic jam was launched on the highway.

The town of Lambi looked illuminated with the red flags of .P.M.K.U. activist's who displayed the tenacity of a boulder.

The protest went a long way in ressurecting the demoralized spirit of agricultural dalit labourers in Punjab, labourers assembled from 8 districts.Moral support was also given by activists of the B.K.U-Ekta(Ugrahan) who made a kitchen for the protestors. Punjab Tribune paper reports below.Lambi/Muktsar: Activists of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Unionon 15th July launched their three-day protest at Lambi village.

They are demanding free five-marla plots for the homeless, compensation against cotton crop failure for farm labourers and financial aid for families of debt-laden farmers who committed suicide.

Lachman Singh Sewewala, general secretary of the union, said, “If the state government did not fulfil our demands, we will intensify our stir.

The CM, on April 1, had assured us that 20,000 plots would be given to farm labourers, but the process has not started yet.”He appealed to the state government to provide permanent employment to the poor and stop thrashing Dalits in the name of cow protection..

On,September 16 Agitating activists of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union blocked the Fazilka-Delhi national highway at Lambi village for nearly two hours today. They were demanding free five-marla plots promised to the homeless by the state government.

Senior officers, including Vishesh Sarangal, SDM, Malout, and SP (D) Baljit Singh, had come to meet the protesters. They assured them of a meeting with the CM during his visit to Badal village on September 18, but the protesters did not relent and sought time for the panel meeting to discuss issues in detail.

The protesters said the state government did not allot residential plots to a number of poor families.

Besides, a large number of farm labourers had not yet got compensation against last year’s cotton crop failure. Similarly, a number of genuine people were deprived of the benefit of blue cards.

They also demanded immediate compensation for the families of those who committed suicide due to debt.

Union general secretary Lachman Singh Sewewala said, “We have informed the administration about our demands. If the government does not give us any assurance as regards our demands, we will intensify our protest from tomorrow. Some other unions are also likely to support us.”

On April 1, he said, the CM had assured them that 20,000 plots would be given to farm labourers, but the process had not started yet.

On the final day on 17th July : activists of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union burnt an effigy of CM Parkash Singh Badal in Lambi village on the concluding day of their three-day protest on Saturday.

They announced to disrupt the state government’s programmes across the state, even as the district administration assured them that their meeting with the CM had been fixed in Chandigarh on September 20.

The farm labourers’ demands include five-marla plots for the homeless and compensation for last year’s damage to the cotton crop.

The women activists in gathering of around 400 burnt an effigy of the chief minister which was very symbolic.